


Marble

by Bookworm1063



Series: CO Countdown 2020 [11]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Carry On Countdown (Simon Snow), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27905287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm1063/pseuds/Bookworm1063
Summary: “I mean, she’s cute. We can meet her.”“Okay.” I click on the button for more details. “It says here that her name right now is Marble. We can change that. I was thinking Stevie—”“No,” Baz says. I roll my eyes. He doesn’t get to tell me what to name my cat.Penny, Baz, and Simon decide to adopt a cat.
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Series: CO Countdown 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026988
Kudos: 33
Collections: Carry On Countdown 2020





	Marble

**Penelope**

“This one’s cute.” I show Simon the picture on my laptop screen. It’s a tabby cat, about a year old, with yellow-green eyes. “She’s already a house cat, old enough not to chew on everything, and it says here that she’s used to living without other cats and can entertain herself. What do you think?”

Simon pouts. “I still don’t see why we can’t get a dog.”

“Because you live on the fourth story, Snow,” Baz says. He’s not helping us look at cats. He’s perched on the arm of my sofa, scrolling through his phone. “I’m not walking a dog down four flights of stairs every time it has to piss.”

He’s right, but I still say, “Shut up, Baz. You don’t even live here.” Just on principle, even though he basically _does_ live here.

Baz sneers at me, and Simon shrugs.

“I mean, she’s cute. We can meet her.”

“Okay.” I click on the button for more details. “It says here that her name right now is Marble. We can change that. I was thinking Stevie—”

“No,” Baz says. I roll my eyes. He doesn’t get to tell me what to name my cat.

_“Anyway._ It says here that she’s going to be at an adoption event tomorrow. I’m filling out the interest form, and if we like her, we could bring her home.”

“Do we even have cat things?” Simon asks. “Like, bowls, and litter boxes, and stuff? What do cats even need?”

“Come on, Snow.” Baz picks himself up off the couch and shows us his phone. He’s been looking up cat supplies. He’s pretending he doesn’t care, but I think he’s more invested in this than Simon is—but then, Baz is a cat person. “We’ll go buy cat litter.”

“Really?” Simon asks. “Cat litter? That’s exactly how I wanted to spend my date night.”

“It’s two in the afternoon,” I point out. “Not exactly time for date night. Go get the kitty litter.”

**Baz**

I won’t deny I’m excited about this cat.

I like cats. They’re strange, creepy, and spend all their time eating gross things, sleeping, and following one person around, trying to get attention, while hating almost everyone else. I find them relatable.

I take Snow to the pet shop a few blocks from his and Bunce’s flat. They’re going out of business in a few weeks, so everything is at least half off. I guide him to the cat section and start looking for a litter box.

“So…what do we need, again?” Simon asks. I point to a stack of shopping baskets by the front door.

“Grab one of those. Find two metal bowls for food. I’ll get the box.”

Simon goes to get a basket. I find a plastic box with high sides. My stepmother used to have a cat, and the thing kicked litter all over the floor. I’ll get the more expensive box if it stops the cat from making a mess. Bunce and Snow will thank me later.

Simon returns with the basket and two bowls. I set the box on its side next to them, and Simon follows me to the toy section. We grab a brush and a few different things—a wand, a few catnip mice, and a play mat.

“It’s like shopping for a baby,” Simon mutters, watching our pile of supplies grow.

“That’s exactly what it is,” I say. “You’re bringing a one-year-old into your flat, Snow. Did you expect it to be cheap?”

The last thing we need is the litter itself. I take the basket from Simon, and he grabs two bags of the cheaper stuff. We drag it all to the counter.

The cashier rings it all up, and I pay. Even though it’s not my cat (not technically, anyway).

Simon and I carry all the cat stuff out to the car, and we load it into the back seat. “I can’t believe you talked Bunce into this,” I say, as I shove two bags of kitty litter into my car.

“I still want a dog,” Simon says.

I close the car door and reach for Simon, tugging him closer to me. “Never mind that. How do you feel about kissing me in a parking lot?”

Simon grins. It’s that same smile he’s used on me for years, even when he wasn’t directing it at me. Somehow, I’m still not immune.

“I suppose I could be convinced,” he says.

**Simon**

The adoption event is at yet another pet store. This one is bigger, and full of people. Penny leads us toward the back, where a wall of cages holds the cats.

I think it’s kind of sad that they keep them in there. Penny says they’ll get lost if they’re let out, but they could at least get a playpen or something.

There’s a woman in a pet store uniform with a nametag, and Penny approaches her. She’s got a kitten in her arms.

“Hello,” Penny says. “My name is Penelope Bunce. I filled out an interest form for Marble?”

“Yes!” the woman says. She sets the kitten down in its cage and closes the door. The cat meows once and settles down on its blanket.

“She’s right over here.” The woman moves down the wall and opens one of the other cages. Marble is sitting inside, her legs all tucked up under her. She looks like she did in her pictures—a tabby with bright yellow-green eyes.

“She’s adorable,” Baz whispers.

“Feel free to say hello,” the woman says. “I can set you up in a private room with…” she glances over at me and Baz. “Your friends.”

“Thanks,” Penny says. The woman moves us into a side room, with a bench, a few toys, and bowls for food and water. She picks Marble out of her cage and leaves her on the floor with us. Then she closes the door.

Marble looks us all over. Penny extends a hand, and Marble sniffs her fingers.

Then she walks over to Baz, headbutts his leg, and starts purring loudly. Baz couldn’t have looked more startled if he’d tried. I don’t think most animals like him.

“Oh,” he whispers. He reaches down, slowly, and scratches Marble’s ears. “Hi, little one.”

She sticks her head into his hand and purrs even louder. Baz sits down on the floor next to her, and she sets her front paws on his lap.

“Wow,” Penelope says. “We’re keeping her, aren’t we.”

Baz doesn’t say anything. Marble has climbed onto his lap and settled in, and she’s kneading his knee with her front paws. Baz is watching her with the world’s softest expression on his face (he doesn’t look at me like that).

My heart melts.

“Yeah,” I say. “We’re keeping her.” 


End file.
